GENERAL INFORMATION- REL 3308 RVAA Summer 2012
Instructor: Professor Nathan Katz
Office: DM 305A
Office Phone: 305 348 3909
E-mail: Please e-mail me through Blackboard. (When you log in to the course, click on "Mail"
under Course Tools on the left. My name is the first one on the list.)
Online Office Hours: TBA (When you log in to the course, click on "Chat" under Course Tools
on the left and then click on "Virtual Office.")
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This online section of Studies in World Religions will use a multimedia approach to explore
Basic Religions, Native American Religions, African Religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism,
Daoism/Confucianism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam, Sects & Cults and Religion in the 21st
Century. The student will be introduced to each tradition through the textbook, videos, and
PowerPoint presentations offered by the members of the Religious Studies faculty, each in their
own research specialization. Students will be tested on this material through time-restricted
quizzes, a midterm, and a final exam. One essay assignment will be given and is due via
turnitin.com by June 13. The essay assignment will test each student's knowledge of the world
religions and how they compare. There are strict guidelines for this assignment that can be found
under the "Essay dropbox" located under Course Content.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
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Compare and contrast religious societies and cultures in the local, national and/ or
international context.
Situate these societies and cultures within contemporary and historical perspective.
Critically engage the issue of religious diversity in national and/ or international context
TEXTBOOK
Living Religions (Paperback),
Mary Pat Fisher,
Prentice Hall: 8th edition
ISBN: 0205835856
Click here to buy your textbook online at our FIU Bookstore.
Important Note: To successfully view the online videos in this class, you
will need a high-speed Internet connection. If you only have dial-up Internet,
you will need to visit one of the FIU computer labs to download and watch
the videos.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE INSTRUCTOR
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E-mail: Contact me via my Blackboard email
Discussion Forum: It will be used for class discussions and other postings of general
interest that are directly related to the course. Everyone can read Discussion Forum
postings; therefore, do not post private information.
Chat: It will be used during my online office hours.
GRADING
Course Requirements
Weights
Essay Assignment
30%
Quiz Average
30%
Midterm (Exam 1)
20%
Final (Exam 2)
20%
Total
Letter
Grade
100%
Range
Letter
Grade
Range
Letter
Grade
Range
A
above 93
B-
80 - 82
D+
67 - 69
A-
90 - 92
C+
77 - 79
D
63 - 66
B+
87 - 89
C
73 - 76
D-
60 - 62
B
83 - 86
C-
70 - 72
F
< 59
QUIZZES
A weekly time-restricted, online quiz will be given on each religious tradition. You can take
each quiz two times, and the higher of the two attempts will be recorded. Even if you do
well on the first attempt, it is advisable to use both attempts. You will not receive the same quiz
every time; the computer randomly chooses the questions from a quiz database. The objective
questions on the midterm and final exams will be taken directly from this database. Thus, the
more times you take the quiz, the more questions you will receive and the better prepared you
will be for the exams.
For the quizzes, you will have 11 minutes to complete 11 questions. Each quiz will be open for
one week, from Monday to Sunday, and you can take it on any of those days at any time.
In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important
that you take the "Online Learning Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to
take your graded exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer is compatible with
Blackboard (http://www.webct.com/tuneup) and that it meets the minimum hardware
requirements (http://online.fiu.edu/future_whats_required.html). Please take this practice quiz
within the first 2 weeks of class.
EXAMS
The midterm and final are both online, objective exams with multiple choice and matching
questions in a time-restricted exam. The midterm will cover Basic Religions, African Religions,
Native American Religions, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism while the final exam will cover
Daoism/Confucianism, Shinto, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Sects and Cults, and Religion in the
21st Century.
ESSAYS
Turnitin.com
The essay will be turned in to Turnitin.com via Blackboard. Click on the link in the Essay
Information folder on the Course Content page. It is not necessary to create an account on
Turnitin.com to submit this assignment.
Keep electronic and paper copies of all written work. For your own protection, keep a copy of
your turnitin.com electronic receipt (confirmation of assignment submission) until you have
received your final grade for the course.
The essay assignment is based on the recent talk by H. H. the Dalai Lama on “The Significance
of World Religions.” View the lecture on line, and also read the essay by Shukla (on
Blackboard). Then construct an essay based on your studies of world religious that considers the
significance of world religions. What is their significance? Why are there so many religions?
Consider also Shulka’s essay, to be found on Blackboard. Based on what you have learned and
read, would you say that there is an inherent unity behind all of the differing manifestations of
religions? Is this what the Dalai Lama is saying? And if the religions different significantly, what
are the meanings of these differences? Does Shukla’s characterization of Dharmic/Abrahamic
makes sense to you? (Don't forget to provide evidence to support your arguments!)
You will need to do research; your textbook and required readings may not have enough
information about the topic. You will need to consult a minimum of three outside sources and
one must be a book reference. You will also need notes in your paper, and a Bibliography/Works
Cited page. You may use any recognized style manual, but you must use it consistently. The
paper should be at least 8 pages long, and no more than 11 pages.
You must use academic sources, meaning sources that are attributed and use citations to back up
the author’s claims.
When reading your essays, I will be looking at three different elements: Content, Style, and
Research. Each will be taken into account when assigning a grade.
Research refers to the information in your paper. Is it correct? Is it detailed? Do you
demonstrate basic knowledge of the religious tradition from which the concept is taken? Is this
knowledge evident in your description? You must use at least three academic sources in your
paper. One of them must be a book reference.
Style refers to how that information is presented. This includes the way the information is
organized and language skills such as spelling, grammar, and proper sentence structure.
Argument refers to the quality of your analysis, how well you support your argument.
For more detailed instructions, please see the "Essay" page under Course Content.
THE ESSAY IS DUE ON JUNE 13.
COURSE POLICIES
Late Papers
I do not accept late work, except in cases of genuine and documented emergencies. In most
cases, excuses will not be accepted. If you wait until the last minutes to complete a quiz or an
exam, or wait to submit the term paper, the ‘traffic’ may be heavy and the submission may not
go through. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTES TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK because this is
not a valid excuse.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism, or attempting to pass off another's work as your
own, falls into three different categories:
1. A written work that is entirely stolen from another source;
2. Using quotations from another source without properly citing them; and
3. Paraphrasing from another source without proper citations.
Students are expected to understand the definition of plagiarism. See the University Code of
Academic Integrity at http://www.fiu.edu/~oabp/misconductweb/2codeofacainteg.htm if you
need further clarification. Offenders will receive a grade of F for the plagiarized assignment, and
possibly the course.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
FIU's policies and procedures are important to the quality of your education
Click here for details on our On-campus Orientation/Online Tutorial, Server Maintenance
Requirements, FIU Library support and FIU Policies.
STUDENT HOMEPAGE
Every student should create his/her own student homepage using the course's Discussion Forum,
which can be found under Course Tools. For help on how to use the HTML Creator to develop a
Student Homepage, click here.
EXPECTATION OF THIS COURSE
This is an online course, meaning that most of the course work will be conducted online.
Expectations for performance in an online course are the same as for a traditional course; in fact,
online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills that can
make them more demanding for some students.
Online courses are not independent study courses. You will be expected to interact online with
instructor/s and peers and keep up with all assignments.
COURSE CALENDAR
Module
Assignments & Readings
Intro and Basic Religions
Week 1
May 7-9
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Introduction to Religion" by Prof. Northup.
Video "Mystic Lands: Australia: Dreamtime."
Read:
Fisher - Chapters 1, Religious Responses, and 2, Indigenous Sacred Ways
Take Quiz 1:
Religious Responses and Indigenous Sacred Ways
Native American Religion
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Native American Religions" by Dr. Huchingson.
Week 1.5
May 10-13
Read: William A. Young, Quest for Harmony: Native American Spiritual Traditions, chapter 1. Full
text available throughNetlibrary.
Take Quiz 2:
Native American Religions
African Religion
Week 2
May 13-15
View:
PowerPoint presentation "African Religions" by Dr. Rey.
Read: E. Thomas Lawson, "The Yoruba and Their Religious Tradition"
Take Quiz 3:
African Religions
Hinduism
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Hinduism" (Lecture I and Lecture II) by Dr. Katz.
Week 2.5
May 16-19
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 3, Hinduism
Take Quiz 4:
Hinduism
Jainism & Buddhism
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Jainism" by Samani Charitra Prajna
PowerPoint presentation "Buddhism" by Dr. Heine
Week 3
May 20-22
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 4, Jainism
Fisher - Chapter 5, Buddhism
Take Quiz 5 & 6:
Jainism
Buddhism
Week 3.5
May 23-26
Midterm - Exam 1
May 23, 12:00 am - May 26, 11:59 pm
Taoism/Confucianism
Week 4
May 27-29
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Taoism/Confucianism" by Prof. Avila
PowerPoint presentation "Shinto" by Prof. Avila
Read:
Fisher - Chapters 6, Taoism/Confucianism, and 7, Shinto
Take Quiz 7:
Daoism/Confucianism and Shinto
Week 4.5
May 30-
Judaism
June 2
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Judaism" (Part I and II) by Dr. Stier
Watch video "Mystic Lands: Jerusalem: Mosaic of Faith."
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 8, Judaism
Take Quiz 8:
Judaism
Islam
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Islam" by Dr. Musa.
Week 5
June-3-6
Read:
Fisher - Chapters 10, Islam, and 11, Sikhism
Take Quiz 9:
Islam
Christianity
Week 5.5
June 7-10
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Christianity: The First Millennia" by Dr. Larson.
PowerPoint presentation "Christianity: The Second Millennia" by Dr. Gudorf.
PowerPoint presentation "Religion in North America" by Dr. Northup
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 9, Christianity
Take Quiz 10 & 11:
Christianity
Christianity and North American Religion
Sects and Cults
Week 6
June 11-13
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Sects and Cults" by Dr. Northup
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 12, New Religious Movements
Take Quiz 12:
Sects and Cults - New Religious Movements
Term Paper due June 13, 11:59 pm
Religion in the 21st Century
View:
PowerPoint presentation "Religion in the Future" by Dr. Gudorf
Week 6.5
June 14-17
Read:
Fisher - Chapter 13, Religion in the 21st Century
Take Quiz 13:
Religion in the 21st Century
Week 7
June 18-21
Final - Exam 2
June 18, 12:00 am - June 21, 11:59 pm